MARKA AKTİVİZMİ KAPSAMINDA ÜRÜN İSİM DEĞİŞİKLİĞİNİN REKLAM ARACILIĞIYLA SUNUMUNUN İZLEYİCİYE YANSIMASI

The effects of the use of brand activism in marketing communication strategies by organizations claiming to produce solutions to social problems on the target audience are not sufficiently known. In this study, which aims to contribute to the elimination of this deficiency, the comments of the viewers reflected on Youtube, one of the social media channels, were analyzed after the change of the brand name, which is considered racist, was announced to the target audience through advertisements. The advertisement, which was made with the principle of social responsibility, was selected with the purposeful sampling method. The study was conducted with a case study design based on qualitative research method and content analysis was used to interpret the data. The 501 audience comments under the published advertisement post were analyzed. Of these comments, 208 were coded. The coded comments were selected from the most recent to the oldest according to the specified date. It was revealed that the announcement that the brand, which has been operating under the same name for a long time, changed the name of its product with an activist discourse did not have the expected effect on its target audience. The majority of the advertisement viewers evaluated the brand's advertisement negatively in terms of moral competence. The moral integration required for moral competence could not be achieved, and a limited level of harmony was observed in the moral vision and moral sensitivity categories. When the posts of social media users who commented on the advertisement were analyzed, it was found that the brand was insufficient in at least one moral skill. The fact that brands convey marketing messages on controversial issues where there are different opinions in society has caused them to fall short in terms of moral competence. This situation shows that the marketing strategy of the brand does not coincide with the values of the stakeholders. The findings of the study suggest that corporate social responsibility should be internalized permanently through all corporate processes, not just as a campaign for specific targets. The study is important in terms of providing the data needed by organizations on how advertising campaigns and brand strategies are reflected to the audience in the context of moral competence.